After a sell-out Tour Down Under season in 2023, Brink’s Symphonie of the Bicycle comes racing back to the Space Theatre in May with the support of State Theatre Company South Australia’s State Educate program.
Beloved SA writer and actor Hew Parham, most recently seen as the Master of Ceremonies of Adelaide Fringe’s Red District, returns in this electric one-man show that is “extremely funny, poignant, emotionally raw and richly entertaining.” (Glam Adelaide)
Director Chris Drummond says “Hew is a brilliant storyteller. He weaves together the epic stories of two cyclists from two different worlds – one, the great Gino Bartali – with amazing invention and flare. Symphonie of the Bicycle is equal parts hilarity and heart – a truly wonderful ride!”
The show’s creative team includes set, costume and lighting designer Wendy Todd, composer and sound designer Will Spartalis, and associate lighting designer and technical operator Aaron Herczeg.
Two men’s lives are intertwined across this story that traverses time and space: South Australian Hew, an amateur cyclist who dwells on missed opportunities and harbours a childhood grudge against professional cyclist and former friend Jake Johnson, and Italian cycling champion Gino Bartali (1914-2000).
Hew reflects on the experiences of Gino Bartali, two-time Giro d’Italia winner and one- time Tour de France winner who was posthumously awarded the honorary title “Righteous Among the Nations” for his efforts to aid Jewish people during World War II by transporting documents in his bicycle frame. These men climb metaphorical and physical mountains
in tandem, learning about grief, teamwork, friendship and perseverance throughout their journeys.
Symphonie of the Bicycle explores heroism, obsession, envy and acceptance while showcasing mountains of endurance that will make you laugh, cry and possibly take up bike riding again!
“Beautifully written, a deft mix of light and dark, with many amusing moments.” – The Advertiser
“Hew Parham has the audience in the palm of his hand his hand and holds them there.” – InDaily
Symphonie of the Bicycle, Space Theatre, May 14 – 25, followed by an outer metropolitan and regional tour.
